Although the women’s gymnastics team dropped their meet at William and Mary on Sunday, coach Aaron Murphy had something simple, yet important to note.
“They’re definitely beatable,” Murphy said. “We had a pretty off day…but they’re a beatable team, and that’s exciting. Because we’ve been looking at scores and saying we’ve never reach that [mark], but now we get to see them first-hand and it’s nice to know we can beat them.”
The Owls were beaten by the Tribe by a score of 193.375 to 189.525. The parallel bars and balance beam was crucial in the defeat, as Temple was not able to crack 47 as a team in either event.
On the parallel bars, Victoria Reggiani led the way with a 9.550. But four of William and Mary’s gymnasts beat that mark as Temple was outscored in that event by nearly two points (48.275 to 46.450).
It was the same story on the balance beam. Although Sylvie Borschel won the event individually, posting a 9.825, William and Mary claimed the next three top spots. The Tribe edged the Owls on this event by a score of 48.350 to 46.500.
Murphy described the struggle in these events as “uncharacteristic”, but was glad that the various falls and misses happened now instead of next week in the conference championships.
On the flipside, Temple excelled on the floor, as they posted a score of 48.525. Jasmine Johnson continued her solid performance as she had all year, posting a 9.800. Lauren Capone was right with her teammate, also scoring a 9.800.
The vault was another strong area for Temple, as they scored a 48.050. Lauren Capone again led the way individually, scoring a 9.825. Brittanie DeMeno was right behind her with a 9.700.
Murphy was impressed with Capone’s performance, specifically on the vault.
“It’s a big thing, Lauren Capone sticking her vault,” Murphy said. “Her start value in the vault is only a 9.9, and she scored a 9.825. That’s highly impressive, showing that there’s almost no error to what she was doing.”
However, gymnastics doesn’t just center on individual performances. Murphy and his team knows this.
“[It] was great, knowing that we won three of the four events individually,” Murphy said. “But again, it is a team sport, and we got to make sure everybody is doing their part so we can win as a team.”
The Owls will look to do just that as they host the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference championships this Saturday.
Murphy said that nothing special is required during practice to get the job done at McGonigle Hall on March 22.
“It’s going to be normal, [we’re] keep it the same,” Murphy said. “Whatever we’ve been doing has been working, so just go in with that game plan, and get ready for Saturday.”
Steve Bohnel can be reached at steven.bohnel@temple.edu or on Twitter @SteveSportsGuy1.
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